We are officially in the return leg of our Florida trip. Unfortunately, we need to thread the weather needle to get back as multiple snow producing systems are standing in our way. One comes in tomorrow and lasts through Sunday morning with expectations of 5 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow. Then that following Monday a second cell comes through with an additional 1 to 2 inches to add to the fun. Our mission now accepted, get the winterizing done in the southern rain tomorrow and then cross the fingers we can make it safely home between those white goalposts – wish us luck. The good news is we came down here to get at least 9 new birds checked off for this year to reach the 400 species mark. Elated to inform you we did it!!! It was more of a struggle than hoped, but managed to get 11 including 2 lifers (Northern Gannet and King Rail) and the highly sought after (Red-Cockaded Woodpecker). Still missed some opportunities, but no complaints here. As always, I owe Linda for helping me get many of the checks – my brother Ron can confirm, she is my secret weapon when it comes to birding. More details coming in future posts.
Today we are going to bring you another lifer tinned on a trip down here back in April 2023.
For the birders out there, are you familiar with this species? Hit the jump to learn more about this rather elusive bird.
I know some of the more seasoned birders may have the family identified as it has a very similar looking species that is quite prevalent during the breeding season across a large swath of the US and up into Canada.
I will admit that I didn’t even know this species existed until we came upon a group of birders staring up into the trees at the entrance of Shell Mounds on Dauphin Island, Alabama. Ron had flown down to catch the migration with us and we had spent the morning covering all the hotspots in the area. Dauphin ‘Island is a major migration mecca enticing all the birds having just crossed the Gulf with its luscious trees. This place is legendary and well earned.
In our hobby, a bunch of people with binoculars and/or cameras staring up into trees is a reason to get excited. Something was up and it was time to join the hunt. Made our way up to the group, spotted what looked like a knowledgeable individual and politely asked what the excitement was about
Me: “What’s up?“
Birder: “There’s a Black-Whiskered Vireo in the trees up there”
Me: “Hey Ron, there is a Black-Whiskered Vireo up there“
Ron: “What’s a Black-Whiskered Vireo?“
Me: “Hell if I know!“
For the next 20 minutes or so we tried to find a bird with neither of us knowing what it looked like. You can take the time to look it up on the phone and risk missing it, or try to follow the binoculars and big barrels of those around you and learn on the fly – we chose the latter. Eventually we figured it out and both of us managed to get a couple of shots before it flew off deeper into the woods. This allowed us to get a chance to “chimp” on the back of the camera and learn what this bird was all about. We both agreed it looked exactly like a Red-Eyed Vireo – the one more commonly found (with exception to the southwest). To the references we went.
These two birds are nearly identical in shape and coloring and from a migration perspective, they can overlap if you happen to be along the northeastern coast of the Gulf of America or rest of Florida’s Atlantic coastline. Note, at first glance at Cornell’s website, you might dismiss the opportunity to see them on the Alabama coast, but hit the Sightings tab and you will notice there are plenty there as well.
Fortunately, there is one very distinctive feature that will help you in the field. The Black-Whiskered Vireo has … are you sitting down, don’t want anyone fainting and getting hurt…black whisker lines. A bit subtle, but you can definitely see thin black lines extending down the neck from both sides of the bill. If you are lucky enough to see under their wings you will also see a small pocket where they keep their beard trimmer. Apologies, I was unable to get any good pictures of that feature.
For reference, here is a picture of a Red-Eyed Vireo we tinned at the same visit. Notice the similarities in overall coloring and the black line through the eye. The Whiskered specimen above doesn’t show it, but Cornell’s reference pictures reveal they can have the white eye brow so that is not a differentiator.
Everyone had dispersed by the time we figured out the bird they were trying to get a shot of was not a Black-Whiskered. I feel bad for all those that left thinking they had witnessed a rarity – especially those without cameras to verify later.
Ron and I knew what to look for now and with this new knowledge we spent the rest of the afternoon on the search for whiskers. We tracked down Vireo after Vireo after Vireo, fought to get each of them in the tin so we could check for whiskers. This went on for several hours until we finally had success at the main pond located in the middle of the mounds. I believe that was the only one we found that entire visit. It is a great day when you get to learn something new about the bird world, find it in the field and get decent enough shots to confidently cross it off your life list. A coveted trifecta for a birder.
Time to get some rest, we have a lot of miles to cover in the next two days. Hope you enjoyed this brief look at a new species here at Intrigued. Take care, be safe in your own travels (especially if you are daring brick and mortar Black Friday sales) and we will see you again in December.
Life Intrigued 